Virginia Law

A. A solid waste is a regulated medical waste subject to this chapter if it meets the criteria under subsection B of this section, unless specifically excluded or exempted by subsection C or D of this section. Claims that materials are not regulated medical wastes or are conditionally exempt from regulation shall demonstrate that the material meets the terms of an exemption. In doing so, appropriate documentation shall be provided to demonstrate that the material is not a regulated medical waste or is exempt from regulation.

B. A solid waste is a regulated medical waste if it meets either of the two criteria of this subsection:

1. The solid waste is suspected by the health care professional in charge of being capable of producing an infectious disease in humans. A solid waste shall be considered to be capable of producing an infectious disease if it has been or is likely to have been contaminated by an organism likely to be pathogenic to healthy humans, such organism is not routinely and freely available in the community, and if such organism has a significant probability of being present in sufficient quantities and with sufficient virulence to transmit disease. If the exact cause of a patient's illness is unknown, but the health care professional in charge suspects a contagious disease is the cause, the likelihood of pathogen transmission shall be assessed based on the pathogen suspected of being the cause of the illness.

2. The solid waste or solid waste stream is identified in the following list:

a. Discarded cultures, stocks, specimens, vaccines, and associated items likely to have been contaminated by them are regulated medical wastes if they are likely to contain organisms likely to be pathogenic to healthy humans. Wastes from the production of biologicals and antibiotics likely to have been contaminated by organisms likely to be pathogenic to healthy humans are regulated medical wastes;

b. Wastes consisting of human blood or body fluids, containers of human blood or body fluids, and items contaminated with human blood or body fluids are regulated medical waste. Human blood and body fluids solidified by absorbent gel, powder, or similar means are also regulated medical waste.

c. Human pathological and anatomical waste, including tissues, organs, body parts, and other pathological or anatomical wastes;

d. Sharps likely to be contaminated with a pathogen or that may become contaminated with a pathogen through handling or during transportation and also capable of cutting or penetrating skin or a packaging material. This also includes sharps generated through veterinary practice, acupuncture needles, and household sharps collected in a sharps drop box;

e. When animals are intentionally infected with organisms likely to be pathogenic to healthy humans for the purposes of research, in vivo testing, production of biological materials, or any other reason, the animal carcasses, body parts, bedding material, and all other wastes likely to have been contaminated are regulated medical wastes when discarded, disposed of, or placed in storage;

f. Wastes that are contaminated with a Category A infectious substance are regulated medical waste that shall be managed in accordance with 9VAC20-121-160;

g. Any residue or contaminated soil, water, or other debris resulting from the cleanup of a spill of any regulated medical waste; and

h. Any solid waste contaminated by or mixed with regulated medical waste, including solid wastes that are packaged as regulated medical wastes.

C. The following materials are not solid wastes or regulated medical wastes:

1. Domestic sewage, including wastes that are not stored and are disposed of in a sanitary sewer system (with or without grinding).

2. Any mixture of domestic sewage and other wastes that pass through a sewer system to a wastewater treatment works permitted by the State Water Control Board or the Virginia Department of Health.

3. Sanitary waste from septic tanks (septage) and sewage holding tanks that is regulated by other state agencies.

4. Human remains when:

a. Under the control of a licensed physician or dentist, when the remains are being used or examined for medical purposes and are not solid wastes;

b. Provided to qualified educational programs as anatomical gifts;

c. Removed during a medical procedure and retained by the patient for religious or other purposes provided that the remains are not a source of disease transmission, as determined by a health care professional; or

d. Properly interred in a cemetery or in preparation by a licensed funeral director or embalmer for such interment or cremation.

5. Individual human and animal cremains.

6. Dead or diseased animals subject to regulation by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

7. Bed linen, instruments, medical care equipment, and other materials that are routinely cleaned and reused for their original purpose are not subject to this chapter until they are discarded and are a solid waste unless a health care professional has determined these items to be to be capable of producing an infectious disease in humans in accordance with subdivision B 1 of this section. These items do not include reusable carts or containers used in the management of regulated medical waste, which shall be managed in accordance with 9VAC20-121-130.

8. Used health care products and reusable medical devices, being returned to a manufacturer or third party for reprocessing (cleaning and disinfecting or sterilizing) and reuse if packaged and labeled in accordance with 49 CFR 173.134(b)(12)(ii)(A) through (D) and reprocessed in accordance with applicable U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements. Used health care products and contaminated medical devices or equipment that meet either of the two criteria in subsection B of this section being sent offsite for recycling or disposal are regulated medical waste and shall be managed in accordance with this chapter. These items do not include reusable carts or containers used in the management of regulated medical waste, which shall be managed in accordance with 9VAC20-121-130.

9. The following items while in use: samples for laboratory tests, patient specimens, and criminal evidence items taken during enforcement procedures that meet the definition of regulated medical waste. Once these items are no longer needed for their intended purpose, they shall be managed as regulated medical waste unless exempt under subsection D of this section.

10. Tissue blocks of organs or tissues (except those associated with prions) that have been fixed in paraffin or similar embedding materials for cytological or histological examinations. Once these items are no longer needed for their intended purpose, they may be managed as solid waste.

D. The following solid wastes are not regulated medical wastes for purpose of this chapter:

1. Wastes that have been treated in accordance with this chapter are no longer regulated medical waste and may be used, reused, or reclaimed in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Solid Waste Management Regulations (9VAC20-81), provided the following requirements are met:

a. Treated waste that was once regulated but is no longer regulated medical waste shall not be repackaged as regulated medical waste. Solid waste repackaged as regulated medical waste is regulated medical waste.

b. If the solid waste is no longer regulated medical waste because of treatment, the generator and the permitted treatment facility shall maintain a record of the treatment for three years after treatment. Generators treating regulated medical waste onsite shall maintain records in accordance with applicable provisions of Part V (9VAC20-121-300 et seq.) of this chapter. Generators shipping regulated medical waste offsite for treatment shall maintain records in accordance with 9VAC20-121-100 I.

c. The generator or proposed user of treated regulated medical waste may request that the department make a case-specific determination that the solid waste may be beneficially used in a manufacturing process to make a product or as an effective substitute for a commercial product. The requestor shall submit a beneficial use demonstration in accordance with the requirements of 9VAC20-81-97.

2. Household waste, including household sharps. Household sharps shall be placed in an opaque, leak proof, puncture resistant container that is closed, tightly sealed, and labeled for home use before being mixed with other solid wastes or disposed. Household sharps may be placed in U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared sharps containers if specifically designed and labeled for home use. Household sharps containers shall be labeled "HOUSEHOLD SHARPS – DO NOT RECYCLE" or "HOME GENERATED SHARPS – DO NOT RECYCLE" printed in large legible text and permanent ink. Household sharps centrally collected in a sharps drop box shall be managed as regulated medical waste in accordance with 9VAC20-121-300 E 1. Medical waste generated by a health care professional administering care in a household is regulated medical waste and must be managed in accordance with this chapter.

3. Nail and skin clippings, breast milk, sputum, semen, teeth, sweat, tears, urine, vomitus, or saliva, unless contaminated with visible blood or a health care professional has determined these items to be capable of producing an infectious disease in humans in accordance with subdivision B 1 of this section.

4. Dental amalgam managed in accordance with the Dental Rule (40 CFR Part 441).

5. Meat or other food items being discarded because of spoilage, contamination, or recall.

6. The following discarded items, when they are unused or expired: health care products, medical equipment, medical devices, unused sharps in the original packaging, or other materials, unless a health care professional has determined these items to be capable of producing an infectious disease in humans in accordance with subdivision B 1 of this section.

7. Used products for personal hygiene, such as diapers, facial tissues, underpads, adult incontinence products, sanitary napkins, and feminine hygiene items, unless a health care professional has determined these items to be capable of producing an infectious disease in humans in accordance with subdivision B 1 of this section.

8. The following discarded items when they are empty: urine collection bags and tubing, suction canisters and tubing, IV solution bags and tubing, colostomy bags, ileostomy bags, urostomy bags, plastic fluid containers, enteral feeding containers and tubing, hemovacs, urine bottles, and urine specimen cups, unless the items are subject to regulation under 16VAC25-90-1910.1030 (29 CFR 1910.1030) or a comparable state or federal standard.

9. The following discarded items: urinary catheters, suction catheters, plastic cannula, IV spikes, nasogastic tubes, oxygen tubing and cannula, ventilator tubing, enema bags and tubing, enema bottles, thermometer probe covers, irrigating feeding syringes, and bedpans or urinals, unless the items are subject to 16VAC25-90-1910.1030 (29 CFR 1910.1030) or a comparable state or federal standard.

10. Items such as bandages, gauze, or cotton swabs or other similar absorbent materials, unless at any time following use the items are saturated or would release human blood or human body fluids in a liquid or semiliquid state if compressed. Items that contain or that are caked with dried human blood or human body fluids and are capable of releasing these materials during handling are regulated medical waste. An item would be considered caked if it could release flakes or particles when handled.

11. Human blood and body fluids when solidified by absorbent gel, powder, or similar means as part of a spill cleanup at establishments engaged in operations other than health care or management of regulated medical waste. This category includes waste generated by stores, markets, office buildings, restaurants, businesses, schools, manufacturers, and commercial or industrial operations.

12. Waste generated from the care of an animal when care is provided by the owner of the animal , such as at a household or farm. Waste generated through veterinary practice that meets either of the two criteria of subsection B of this section, such as sharps, must be managed as regulated medical waste.

13. Waste from cosmetology, ear and body piercing, nail salons, and tattoo establishments, except for sharps and unabsorbed human blood or body fluids.

14. Plant or animal wastes, such as bat guano, removed from construction or demolition projects when actions are taken to avoid worker exposure, including use of appropriate personal protective equipment, and the waste is managed in accordance with any applicable best management practice, special handling, and other precautions for processing or disposal.

15. Waste from food, drug, and cosmetics testing laboratories (except research laboratories) using microbiological methods for the detection of human infectious agents, microbial toxins, or chemical residuals as part of routine quality assurance testing of food, drugs, or cosmetic products.

16. Wastes regulated by the Virginia Department of Health, the State Water Control Board, the Air Pollution Control Board, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Federal Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, or any other state or federal agency with such authority.